One of the most important problems in utilizing water borne vehicles, typically boats, is in launching and landing of the boats as well as storing them. Boats which contain flat bottom hulls are easier to remove from the water since they can be properly dragged onto the shore. Similarly, they can be launched with relative ease, and can be stored on a flat storage surface. However, boats which contain angled bottoms, typically sailboats, are more difficult to manipulate during launching and landing, and most difficult to store.
Generally, sailboats include a hull which is of triangular shape converging towards the bottom from which a keel downwardly extends. The keel is generally of a thin vertical section. As a result, it is exceedingly difficult to store the sailboat since accommodation must be made for the vertical keel portion and the converging hull portion. At the same time, it is also difficult to properly launch or retreive the sailboat because of the shape of the hull and the keel.
To accommodate storage, as well as launching and retreiving of such sailboats, there is generally utilized a trailer which contains supports on the side of the trailer which abut and hold the hull portion and permit the boat to be stored in an upright position, while accommodating the vertical keel portion on the trailer. To retreive the boat, the trailer is typically rolled directly into the water, and a rope from a winch is let out and hooked onto the boat. The boat is then reeled onto the trailer at which time the supports abut the hull and hold the sides of the boat while the rope from the winch keeps the boat from sliding off the trailer. The trailer is then pulled out of the water with the boat thereon, and the boat is retained on the trailer for retention and storage. Similarly, when launching the boat, the trailer supporting the boat is moved directly into the water and the boat is pushed off the trailer while removing the winch from holding the boat.
Various problems have been presented in connection with the state of the art trailers used for the above mentioned purposes. One of the problems deals with entry and exit of the boat, and proper retention of the boat on the trailer. While the supports, typically a number of stanchions placed around the flatbed are available for holding the hull, they are frequently of improper size to accommodate many sailboats. Since sailboats and their hulls come in various sizes, a standard support will be improperly sized for many varieties of boats. While a support of a given height and angular position may be appropriate for one shape of a hull, a different boat with a modified hull shape would be improperly held by the same support means.
An additional problem with present trailers is in connection with the launching and landing of the boat. As the boat is hoisted by means of the winch, the boat moves onto the trailer and as the keel gets into position on the trailer, there is a tendency for the boat to pitch forward. The boat will continue the forward pitch until the supports abut the hull at which time the boat will straighten out. However, the temporary forward pitching of the boat may damage parts of the trailer and even the trailer itself. It may further damage goods and contents contained on the sailboat because of this sudden forward pitching. Similarly, during launching, as the boat moves rearwardly of the trailer, once the front supports no longer engage the keel or the hull, the boat with the keel still on the trailer and with the bow of the hull no longer supported, may pitch rearwardly, with the stern being suddenly lowered. This tip may cause damage to the trailer as well as to contents in the boat.
Furthermore, while the support means on the trailer are available to properly support the hull, there is provided little if any support directly to the keel. Since the keel is usually weighted, the weight of the keel is directly forced against the bottom of the flatbed and may scrape or mar the flatbed as well as providing cuts and gashes therein.
Still another problem with prior art trailers is in connection with the maneuvering of the trailer itself. The trailer typically includes a set of rear wheels and a universally rotating wheel in the front of the trailer. This permits the trailer to be properly steered by means of a crank to move the trailer in a desired direction. Usually, the universal wheel is also connected to a leveling jack whereby the wheel itself can be adjusted to a proper height or entirely raised during connection to a car or other pulling vehicle, to which the trailer is hitched. However, because of the universal wheel, as the trailer is being pushed into or pulled out of the water, there is a tendency for the universal wheel to rotate thereby altering the direction of movement of the trailer. When a boat is to be launched at a particular position, it becomes difficult to manipulate the trailer into the water and have it move along a single line without veering to either side.
A further problem with existing trailers is in connection with appropriate manipulation of the winch. Because the winch is utilized to hoist and hold the boat, the winch is generally placed on a tower extending above the surface of the flatbed so that the rope, which is connected to an eye in the bow, can be at approximately horizontal level with the bow. As a result of its being positioned on a tower, it becomes difficult to manipulate a crank to operate the winch.